Dubrovnik Synagogue
Established in 1352, the oldest Sephardic synagogue still active on Earth — one that took an artillery shell through the roof in 1992 and reopened five years later.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Dubrovnik offline.
Trace a community that arrived after Spain's 1492 expulsion, survived the 1667 earthquake that caused much damage to the city, endured WWII, and then had its windows blown out in 1991 and its roof pierced by a shell in 1992. The small museum holds ritual items and artefacts spanning that entire arc. Second oldest synagogue in Europe, still in use.
What to look for
- A deliberate mix of design styles — centuries of earthquake and war repairs layered different eras onto the same interior
- Centuries-old ritual items and community artefacts in the museum cases
- The adjoining building owned by the Tolentino family, who have served as caretakers of the synagogue for centuries
Find it on Žudioska ulica (Jewish Street) in the Old Town; the sanctuary functions as a museum year-round and opens for worship only on High Holy Days and special occasions.
Dubrovnik Synagogue is one of 12 sights worth the detour in Dubrovnik, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Dubrovnik pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Dubrovnik
- Walls of DubrovnikWalk an unbroken 1,940-metre circuit of medieval stone — up to 25 metres above the old city — that held Ragusa independent for centuries.
- Rector's PalaceFour disasters over two centuries — fire, a gunpowder explosion, and two earthquakes — rebuilt this palace each time in a different style and left the evidence in plain sight.
- Dubrovnik CathedralA Baroque church rebuilt from the rubble of Dubrovnik's 1667 earthquake — its foundations partly funded by Richard the Lionheart, who owed a votive for surviving a shipwreck off Lokrum on his way home from the Third Crusade.
- StradunEvery building on this 300-metre limestone street was rebuilt to a government blueprint after the 1667 earthquake — and it shows.
- Sponza PalaceA stone arch inside warns every merchant: "When I measure goods, God measures with me."
- Franciscan Church & MonasteryThe 1667 earthquake flattened the church. One portal from 1498 made it through — and carved into it is a miniature of everything that didn't.